MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Aug. 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Vest, a new online service providing a simple, affordable way for investors to protect themselves from some or all market losses, will launch at the Y-Combinator Demo Day in Mountain View, California on August 18th. Vest's website at vestfin.com allows users to customize returns on investments by choosing their personal balance of upside growth opportunities with downside protection.

Institutions and sophisticated investors frequently make use of options—complex financial derivatives—to protect themselves from losses on their investments. Offerings via customizable derivatives and structured products have been available for decades, but typically only to institutions or high net worth investors, investing in large sizes ($500K+).

For the first time, Vest's powerful, intuitive online platform opens up these protective strategies to everyday investors for a fraction of the price.

To use the service, investors log in to a simple online interface at vestfin.com and choose a stock or ETF, or an existing position. They then select their desired downside protection—up to 100%. The protection premium is calculated automatically, and may be lowered by selecting an upside cap. More advanced investors can explore inverse, leverage, and income strategies, all with the click of a mouse.

Vest's proprietary technology also powers a platform available through retail and intermediary brokerages, as well as financial advisors.

Research suggests that options-based strategies such as those that Vest offers could provide greater downside risk protection than standard multi-asset diversification programs, especially during significant market downturns. The vulnerability of diversification was on full display during the 2008 financial crisis, when the contagion spread across multiple asset classes.

The Vest team consists of financial experts and engineers who bring together more than 50 years of experience in the investment and technology worlds. Hailing from Barclays, E*Trade, Fidelity, ProShares, Julius Baer, SunGuard, World Bank, Oxford and Wharton, the Vest team strives to democratize investing by making protected investing strategies accessible to a much broader audience.

"We are thrilled to be bringing our new service to market," said Karan Sood, Co-Founder of Vest. "Our goal is to deliver stock protection strategies to everyone. Our protective service and simple online platform can help mitigate some of the anxiety that everyday investors may feel when it comes to investing."

ABOUT VEST

Founded in 2012, Vest is an independent registered investment advisory firm that specializes in protecting investors from market losses. Through its intuitive online platform, everyday investors can affordably custom-tailor their investments with downside protection, upside caps, as well as inverse, leverage, and income strategies.